


The Trouble Wi' Tyneside

by GnomeIgnominious



Category: Lewis (TV)
Genre: Ficlet, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-09
Updated: 2014-08-09
Packaged: 2018-02-12 11:26:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2108082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GnomeIgnominious/pseuds/GnomeIgnominious
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lewis's brother visits Oxford.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Trouble Wi' Tyneside

**Author's Note:**

> This is just an idea I've had in my mind for a while, I might continue it at some point. This is my first Lewis fic and my first post here on AO3. I used to publish regularly on ff.net but got out of the habit of writing prose and fanfic so I wrote this just to write something.

"Pint?" Hathaway posed the unnecessary question.

It was their routine on a Friday evening after work.

Lewis paused to consider it for a moment.

"Nah, can't tonight, sorry." He checked his watch distractedly as he spoke and quickly pulled on his jacket.

"Oh, ok. Fine." Hathaway did his best to hide his surprise- surprise at the answer and surprise at his own twinge of disappointment.

Lewis gave him an appraising glance.

"Me brother's coming down to visit. Didn't I tell you?"

Hathaway thought back and decided that maybe Lewis had mentioned something about it after all.

"Anyway, I have to meet him off the train. I was just gonna take him back to mine for a quiet night in if you want to join?"

"No thanks, sir."

"Ah come on, man, you're only going to be sat at home on your own anyway."

Hathaway could not deny the truth in Lewis' words.

"Well, if you insist, sir-"

"I do. Simon'd love to meet you. Now come on, let's get down to the station."

 

...

 

The drive across Oxford was slow thanks to the rush-hour traffic. Hathaway felt like he should be making small talk, but Lewis seemed content to sit in silence, occasionally tapping his fingers on the steering wheel as the engine ticked over at a red light. He never really talked about his family, besides Lyn and her family, and Val every so often. Hathaway remembered Lewis mentioning his brother once when they were interviewing a suspect, but apart from that he might as well not exist. Hathaway had surmised that Lewis' parents were dead and perhaps that meant he had drifted away from the rest of his family. Living at the other end of the country probably didn't help matters either. As they turned down George Street Hathaway decided on a reasonable conversation opener.

"Must be a long time since you've seen him."

Lewis' eyes stayed on the traffic ahead.

"Mm. Couple of years now I think."

Hathaway racked his brains for any kind of special date or anniversary that he'd possibly forgotten that could have precipitated this unexpected visit, but he came up empty handed. Nothing for it but to ask...

"Is he coming down for any particular reason?"

Lewis glanced across at Hathaway and then back to the road. 

"He's been asked to participate in a genetics study being run by the university. So've I, as a matter of fact."

Hathaway digested this new information.

Lewis smiled.

"I can smell burning sergeant, are you thinking again?"

Hathaway levelled a withering look at Lewis.

"I was just wondering what-"

"Well, why don't you ask rather than trying to deduce it all yourself?"

Hathaway rolled his eyes heavenward and muttered something.

"Blaspheming again?" asked Lewis mildly.

"No, just asking God why he decided to land me with the most aggravating boss in the whole of the Thames Valley."

"Oi, it was you who wanted to work for me, if I remember rightly."

"At your age sir, I wouldn't trust my memory."

"Right, that's it, you're paying for tea tonight."

"Wasn't I already?"

Lewis chuckled and his expression softened.

"Go on. Ask me about me brother."

Hathaway considered the instruction. Clearly Lewis wanted to talk about his family- that was rare enough. But the fact he was telling James to do so meant he knew his sergeant would feel guilty if the conversation was forced. So he was taking charge and letting James know that the topic was not off-limits. Hathaway weighed up a question as they pulled into the station car park.

"Older or younger?"

"He's five years younger."

"Married?"

"Yep."

"Kids?"

"Six, last I counted."

"He has _six_ kids? Blimey. Um."

"I know, bonkers isn't it?" Lewis shook his head. "His eldest is seventeen and his youngest is four."

"And he lives in Newcastle?"

Lewis nodded. "He's much more of a Geordie than me. You have been warned." As they made their way up the station steps, Hathaway recalled Lewis grumbling about 'professional Northerners' on one of their early cases and wondered if that was a contributing factor to their separation. 

"I told him I'd be waiting in front of the barriers somewhere." Lewis turned to look at the arrivals board. "Gets in in ten minutes."

They picked a spot out the way of the doors and watched the crowds flowing on and off the platforms. Hathaway had one question left.

"You said he was coming down for a genetic study, sir." It came out as less of a question than he'd have liked.

"Yeah. There's hereditary deafness in our family, on our dad's side. Our granddad was deaf and our uncle Harry, and so's Simon and two of his sons. The university got in touch about us giving a couple of DNA samples and compiling a family history for them. Since I'm already down here it's no bother. And it's always nice to see Simon."

Lewis' candid answer wrong-footed Hathaway slightly. He was used to picking apart layers of subtext in his boss's speech and expressions and it was unusual to hear him speak so clearly about such a personal matter. He couldn't think of an appropriate response, so he just nodded. At that moment, the tannoy clicked on and a woman's voice announced: "The train now arriving at platform one is the 17:41 Cross Country service to Guildford. This is the service from Newcastle."

"That'll be him," said Lewis, unnecessarily. 

Hathaway scanned the crowds.

"Will I recognise him sir?"

"Our mam always said we looked alike. Dunno now that we're old, mind."

Hathaway caught sight of a shortish man in his late forties, dark hair cropped short. 

"That him sir?" But Lewis had already seen him and gave a broad smile and a wave.

Simon Lewis came through the ticket barrier and straight across to his brother, a matching smile on his face. 

"Robbie, man, how are y'?" His accent was much stronger than Robbie's and his speech had an odd, almost slurred quality to it. Hathaway caught sight of the discreet hearing aids in his ears.

"Ah, very well man, yourself?" The brothers exchanged a warm handshake and an awkward half-hug.

"Yeah not so bad, train was on time which makes a change I suppose." Simon turned to Hathaway and extended his hand. "Simon Lewis."

Up close, Hathaway judged his height to be about 5 ft 7, shorter than his older brother. He had Lewis's dark hair and clear  
blue eyes and there was the shadow of a smile playing across his lips.

"James Hathaway, I'm your brother's sergeant." They shook.

"Ah, so you're the famous Hathaway. Heard a lot about you- so to speak." Simon gave a wry smile.

Hathaway raised his eyebrows. "Nothing bad I hope," he replied, with a pointed look at Lewis.

Robbie chuckled. "Of course not, sergeant, you know me- the very soul of delicacy and discretion."

Simon laughed at that. "Y' need to get back to Tyneside, man, Oxford's done horrible things to y'- not least mangled your accent and turned y'into a right pretentious git."

"Aye, but the trouble wi' Tyneside is it's full o' people like you Simon," Robbie rejoined, deliberately thickening his accent to mimic his brother. "Now come on, let's get back to my place- James here has kindly volunteered to buy us dinner."

**Author's Note:**

> I based my mental image of Simon Lewis off the ex-pro-cyclist Chris Boardman, who I think looks pretty similar to our Robbie.


End file.
